DENVER — It’s amazing how quickly things can change. And how a franchise’s response to disappointment can either sink it or stabilize it.

In the span of 11 months, the Nuggets have gone from viewing the Timberwolves as the mountain in their playoff path to a “get-right” game, the kind of opponent that offered them an opportunity to kick the bad habits they had shown in a four-losses-in-five-games skid that temporarily stunted their climb to the top of the Western Conference.

As the Nuggets buried the Wolves under an avalanche of cross-court passes that led to wide open 3-pointers, it has never been more clear just how differently each of these teams handled the adversity when it hit them.

The Nuggets stayed the course after losing Game 82 to the Wolves last season to miss the playoffs, rolling with a superb front office, talented coaching staff and an exciting young roster. The Timberwolves made major changes after Tom...